Saka shakes off penalty nightmare to save England at Euro 2024 | OneFootball

Bukayo Saka came to the rescue when England needed it most, then he showed up again to help the side edge the penalty shootout against Switzerland on Saturday night.

When the Three Lions went behind to a Breel Embolo tap-in in the second half, the Arsenal winger wasted little time in finding an equaliser.

The 22-year-old whipped a beautiful shot from outside the box past Yann Sommer to level matters and send the Euro 2024 quarter-final tie to extra-time.

The contest inevitably went to penalties, in which Jordan Pickford denied Manuel Akanji to provide the platform for an England victory. All five takers converted from twelve yards out, including Saka, who reckons the win is among the best of his career.

Read – Penalty hero Alexander-Arnold hails ‘incredible’ England win

“I am going to put it up there, special,” he told BBC One. “How we fought back and to go to penalties. Last time we took at penalty shootout at the Euros we know what happened. I believed. I felt like we dominated the whole game and the chance would come and I took it – I am proud of myself for that.”

Saka missed the decisive penalty in the shootout against Italy at the end of the Euro 2020 final, but has since converted 10 of his 11 penalties for Arsenal in the Premier League.

“I have faith in God. To comeback from something like that is really difficult, today I took the chance,” he said.

England have not performed to their ability in this tournament, and flirted dangerously close to elimination at the hands of Slovakia and the Swiss. Yet they are one win away from a second successive appearance in a Euros final.

“I think it shows how much we want to win this tournament,” said Saka. “Hopefully, next game we can win in 90-minutes but if this is what it takes – we will do anything!”

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, who watched the shootout from the sideline after being subbed in extra-time, praised Saka after the full-time whistle.

“Another tough game and first of all great resilience from the lads to turn it up again,” Kane said. “To get the goal, a fantastic finish from Bukayo Saka. Penalties are penalties, but I felt prepared – I was on the side, but I felt comfortable in the lads. Five out of five and a save from Picks!

“We trust in whoever is on the pitch and the difference this year compared to past years is we have proven penalty takers – we have a lot more experience and we showed it out there.”

Read – Five defensive midfielders Premier League clubs are battling to sign

See Also – Five players who could join Arsenal this summer

Follow The Football Faithful on Social Media:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok